Southside Elementary School is a public school serving pre-kindergarten through 5th grade, located at in the Brickell area at 45 SW 13 Street, Miami, FL 33130. The school serves an average of 850 students with student-to-teacher ratio of 16:1. Southside is a Magnet School under the Miami-Dade County School of Choice program.
Magnet programs offer unique courses of study focusing on students’ special interests, talents, and abilities. Magnet programs are available to students under the following six themes of study: Careers & Professions. International Programs, Liberal Arts, Mathematics, Science, & Technology, VPREP- Virtual Offerings, and the Visual & Performing Arts.
Southside Elementary Magnet School works in collaboration with the Miami Science Museum and Lowe Art Museum under the Liberal Arts study theme. The curriculum includes a museum-based learning environment, plus resources from and expeditions to the museums providing “hands-on, minds-on authentic learning experiences taking students beyond the walls of the classroom.” The school offers other programs including bilingual, Gifted and Talented, Special Education, and Exceptional Student Education.
The National Center for Urban School Transformation
At Southside teachers undergo rigorous professional development to help students make real-life connections utilizing genuine artifacts. Teachers train students to take visual inventory of an object and describe the physical characteristics of the object. Teachers guide students through thought-provoking questions that lead to connections with a vast array of social, cultural, historic, and scientific topics. This methodology promotes language development and higher-order cognition, while also making learning exciting and fun. Family income doesn’t prevent Southside students from accessing the world. Southside students are eager to come to school, learn, and grow.
Southside Elementary Museums Magnet School in Florida’s Miami-Dade School District has received the Magnet School of Distinction Award for 2012. Southside was a National Excellence in Urban Education Award Winner in 2008.
At Southside, teachers have undergone rigorous professional development to help students make real-life connections utilizing genuine artifacts. Teachers train students to take visual inventory of an object and describe the physical characteristics of the object.
Students answer thought-provoking questions that lead to connections with a vast array of social, cultural, historic, and scientific topics. This methodology promotes language development and higher-order cognition, while also making learning exciting and fun.
For more information about the school’s highly engaging instructional approach go to http://southside.dadeschools.net/
Southside Elementary is also part of the Reclamation Project “to help educate [about] the importance of native trees and mangroves and engage their communities in restoring coastal and inland ecosystems.” The Reclamation Project writes about Southside:
Southside has had an outstanding record of academic success over the past 10 years. The school has received a school grade of A as designated by the Department of Education: Florida School Grades. The school has also received several mentions and distinctions over the years such as Magnet School of Distinction Award for 2012, Title One Distinguished School Award in 2007-2008, Arts for Learning Sun Award for Outstanding Site in 2009 and Excellence in Urban Education Award from the National Center for Urban School Transformation (NCUST) in 2008 for urban schools that have succeeded in improving academic achievement for English language learners (ELLs).
According to SchoolDigger.com, “In 2014, Southside Elementary School ranked better than 67.4% of elementary schools in Florida. It also ranked 97th among 260 ranked elementary schools in the Dade School District” while Florida’s School Performance Grades ranks South Elementary as an “A” school from 2010 through 2013 and a “B” school in 2014.
Southside Elementary School the oldest elementary school in Miami-Dade County and the building was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places on January 4, 1989. Southside School is served by the Miami Metrorail at the Brickell Station and by the Metromover. Famous alumni of the school include Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen.
